Anthropic has asked a California federal court to dismiss a copyright lawsuit filed by major music publishers Universal Music Group, Concord, and ABKCO, arguing that using their song lyrics to train its AI chatbot Claude constitutes fair use under US copyright law. The case centres on a question now at the heart of numerous high-stakes legal battles: whether tech companies may legally copy millions of copyrighted works without permission for AI training purposes. A ruling in Anthropic's favour could set a significant precedent for the broader AI industry facing similar claims from authors, artists, and other rights holders.